Valley Wide Utilities Case Study

The company was faced with financial inefficiencies resulting from an expansion of its facilities. Three years prior, under advisement from outside firm, Valley Wide implemented an MBO program to evaluate department managers, sales engineers, and consumer service employees.
President Delgado appointed John Givens and Hilda Hirsh to provide a broad outline of MBO performance standards, identify key standards controlling performance, and more specifically, isolate goals not easily attained.

Micro

At the beginning stages, negative feedback was received, but eventually departments came around. During the first year participation was encouraged, employees set high goals, productivity increased, and rewards were obtained.
However, in the course of the past year, performance evaluation problems are surfacing, dissatisfaction is emerging, managers are stating MBO standards are too tight and unfair, and workers are threatening to leave.

Causes

John and Hilda may not have the knowledge or skills to evaluate and change performance levels of individuals or teams.
Manager and line supervisors should be participating in MBO programs. They can assist by identifying deficiencies, facilitating process improvements, and measuring goals and objectives
Other departments started complaining that Hirsh was only looking for failure to report under the cover of the MBO system. There is no trust in this company due to management.
Employee morale is decreasing because higher performance standards cannot be met and/or are unattainable. Department managers are accusing Hirsh as focusing one cost measurement within the MBO program (i.e. departmental labor cost) instead of all costs within each area (i.e. customer satisfaction).
The case study does not provide enough information to determine what or how the MBO has been…...

Similar Documents

...Poland: A Case Study for Efficient Markets?
Poland’s GDP grew by 1.7% in 2009. It was the only European country with positive economic growth that year. “What did Poland do right?” is what many pundits were asking throughout 2011, late 2010, and has recently been brought up yet again. Poland has even been called the “case study for free markets.” In this political election year, where many are calling for the repeal of Dodd-Frank, dismantling of the Treasury’s Office of Financial Research, and the Consumer Protection Financial Bureau, it would be good to discuss Poland and whether it truly is the “case study” for free market economics.
Commentators have argued that Poland’s Finance Minister and Prime Minister “have an unyielding belief in the free markets.” Equating Poland’s policies to Austrian economics advocated by F. A. Hayek and his mentor Von Mises. Using Von Mises for economic policy is a bit misplaced as even Friedman, loyalist supporter of F. A. Hayek, has harsh criticism for Von Mises’ intolerance for opposing economic views. Von Mises is more of an early to mid-1900s example of today’s hard-right conservative policies, than strong analytic economic policies.
In fact, Von Mises presented an ideological type of economist, opting to support fascism to quash support for communism. He also, simultaneously opposed progressive tax to the point that he vehemently disagreed with economists so much that he used today’s strong economic analysis of calling them “all......

...manufacturing the plastic rings but that something needed to be done with the steel rings. Henk, the sales manager insisted that they needed to stop the steel rings once the plastic ones were available. He argued that if customers found out that they had bought the steel ones instead of the plastic ones it could have a negative effect on the company’s sales. Thorborg, general manager, knew that if they continued with the production and sale of steel rings, about 15,100 rings would be left by mid-September. He remembered that during the next 2 or 3 weeks the plant would not be working at full capacity. He wondered if workers could work on converting the steel inventory to rings on the slack time.
.
Introduction
The goal of this case study is to determine the optimal use of materials and resources while incorporating a new product.
The executive summary lays out most of the details and the appendix includes all facts and figures with regards to costs and profitability. Alternative solutions are also included within the appendix for your consideration.
Analysis
[Brief]
Conclusion
[Brief based on data]
Appendix
Data
Production Cost and Profitability.
Ring Type Material* Direct Labor* Overhead* Total Cost*
Steel 321.90 196.50 589.50 1107.90
Plastic 17.65 65.50 196.50 279.65
*per 100
Ring Type Total Cost* Revenue* Profit*
Steel 1107.90 1350.00 242.10
Plastic 279.65 1350.00 1070.35
*per 100
Recovery of......

...November 5, 1978
Camden, New Jersey
Clover Valley Dairy Company
Dear Charles,
I am writing to you in response to your concerns regarding the market test on the new cups and carriers that Clover Valley is introducing to the customer. The purpose of this research is to see if the new packaging is worth the change and if the consumer will accept the new change. It will also tell us if the new six container holder will be effective. I do agree that the new carrier should be tested and it should be tested in other areas that are not our competitors. I also believe that it should be in our market as well as our competitors. One of the most important parts of testing a new product or design should always start with our competitors in mind. Knowing what our competitors are offering and how well it is accepted by the consumer should be the basis of our decision of even deciding if it should be tested and tried. Knowing our market and what is out there gives us a good lead on how to impact our consumers in a good way. This leads to why we should consider and include our competitor’s customer views as well as our non-competitor customer views just for comparison. By not including our non-competing stores, we are only hindering our abilities to fully see what will really sell and what won’t sell. May I suggest that we only limit to one competitor? This will give us more money for our budget and we won’t be throwing all our money into several competitors’ when only one will give us......

...BUSM 4194 Leading for Change (Singapore semester 3, 2013)
Exam Case study
Yarra Valley Water: Learning and change for sustainability
By PATRICK CRITTENDEN, SUZANNE BENN AND DEXTER DUNPHY
Introduction
Yarra Valley Water (YVW) is widely recognised in Australia as a leader in corporate sustainability. The Victorian Government-owned water utility delivers water and sewerage services to over 1.6 million people in the northern and eastern suburbs of Melbourne. Its operating licence covers over 4000 square kilometres and it maintains a distribution network comprising over 16,000 kilometres of water and sewerage pipes. Operational challenges include the maintenance of ageing water and sewage infrastructure in established areas and the development of new infrastructure in the rapidly expanding northern suburbs of Melbourne.
The organisation's capability and commitment to delivering sustainability outcomes has been demonstrated at a practical level through the implementation of innovative projects. Its contribution as a leader has been recognised through public sustainability awards at state, national and international levels.
YVW's ability to consistently deliver innovative projects and to demonstrate sustainability leadership in the water industry is the outcome of a decade-long focus on organisational learning and change.
This case study describes three inter-related aspects of YVW's approach:
1. Organisational culture. Since 2001, YVW have been implementing...

...Case: valley wide utilities company
Problems
A. Macro
1. The company faced with financial inefficiencies resulting from an expansion of its facilities.
2. President Delgado appointed John Givens and Hilda Hirsh to provide a broad outline of MBO performance standards, identify key standards controlling performance, and more specifically, isolate goals not easily attained.
B. Micro
1. During the past year, performance evaluation problems are surfacing, dissatisfaction is emerging, managers are stating MBO standards are too tight and unfair, and workers are threatening to leave.
I. Causes
1. John and Hilda may not have the knowledge or skills to evaluate and change performance levels of individuals or teams.
2. Hirsh was only looking for failure to report under the cover of the MBO system
II. Systems affected
1. The company just increased the performance level on several items, bur they didn’t set a specific goal.
2. When the problems appeared, the company should talk about it together, and find out what they should do next, but they didn’t.
III. Alternatives
1. Lower the standard of the system.
2. The manager should make a plan or goal from the review, then tell the employees how to do next.
IV. Recommendation
The company should do what I said before.
Case: valley wide utilities company
Problems
C. Macro
3. The company faced with financial inefficiencies resulting from an expansion of its facilities.
4...

...World Wide Drug Case
Introduction
In this case, there are three parties who play substantial roles in this case: Ahmed Diba (Controller of the Body Products Division of World Wide Drugs), Cheryl Kelly (President of the same division), and the Executive Committee for World Wide Drugs (WWD). Diba is set to put together a proposal for a new product to be developed in the Body Products Division for WWD; the proposal was to be ultimately reviewed and decided upon by the WWD Executive Committee. However when complete, Kelly scans the report and criticizes the fact Diba included a variable cost for the product devoted to dealing with possible litigation fees. She ordered for it to be removed, as it would unnecessarily reduce the contribution margin for the product; thus reducing the likely of the project being accepted. However, she did assure Diba that he would be given a chance to mention the litigation fee to the executive committee when they would present the proposal.
Unfortunately, Kelly never did tell Diba about the actual meeting and when it took place. Instead, she decided to attend the executive meeting on her own, and presented the proposal. It was only when the proposal was accepted by the committee and that their division was given the green light to operate, that Diba was told of what had transpired. Kelly’s reasoning for not bringing Ahmed along was that it would her division money if only she went, as the meeting was supposedly held in......

...CASE STUDY
SUMMARY: MARKETING EXCELLENCE CATERPILLAR
The steam tractors of the 1890s and early 1900s were extremely heavy, sometimes weighing 1,000 pounds (450 kg) per horsepower, and often sank into the rich, soft earth of the San Joaquin Valley Delta farmland surrounding Stockton, California. Benjamin Holt attempted to fix the problem by increasing the size and width of the wheels up to 7.5 feet (2.3 m) tall and 6 feet (1.8 m) wide, producing a tractor 46 feet (14 m) wide. But this also made the tractors increasingly complex, expensive and difficult to maintain.
Caterpillar was founded in 1925 when two California based tractor companies merged. The name “Caterpillar” Company photographer Charles Clements was reported to have observed that the tractor crawled like a Caterpillar, and Holt seized on the metaphor. "Caterpillar it is. That's the name for it!" Some sources, though, attribute this name to British soldiers in July 1907. Two years later Holt sold his first steam-powered tractor crawlers for US$5,500, about US$128,000 today. Each side featured a track frame measured 30 inches (760 mm) high by 42 inches (1,100 mm) wide and was 9 feet (2.7 m) long. The tracks were 3 inches (76 mm) by 4 inches (100 mm) redwood slats.
Holt received the first patent for a practical continuous track for use with a tractor on December 7, 1907 for his improved "Traction Engine" ("improvement in vehicles and especially of the traction engine class; and included endless traveling......

...Case Study Amazon’s New Store: Utility Computing
Name:
Institution:
Course:
Tutor:
Date:
Case Study Amazon’s New Store: Utility Computing
Introduction
Back in the year 1995, Amazon was opened as a bookstore, one that has grown over the years and morphed into a large reputable internet based company. One of the largest virtual superstores today in the world, Amazon offers up to thirty six categories of products. Jewelry, furniture, clothing and groceries are just but a few of the products that Amazon has to offer. Today, Amazon boasts of being the top online retailer in the whole world (Andrei and Jain, 2009). In an effort to modernize its data centers and software and also be able to add new features in the existing product pages, it developed a number of important services that have proved significant in its growth over the years.
Question 1
World over, Amazon is known for the provision of cloud computing also known as utility computing or demand computing. In essence, it refers to allowing the firm to offload peak demand for computing power to large scale data processing centers that are remote. In a nutshell, the Amazon Company offers computing capacity on a per usage basis. Amazon is at an advantageous point in terms of business in the sense that it can generate more income from a number of other businesses (Buyya, Yeo, Venugopal, Broberg and Brandic, 2009). This can be achieved through provision of its extra and additional capacity to those in need.......

...have medical purposes such as an antimicrobial, anti-diarrheal, diuretic, anti-inflammatory actions, the evidence is strongest and most promising in two directions: high blood sugar and high blood pressure.
The question whether stevia is safe to consume, largely depends on what someone means by “stevia”. The FDA has not approved for stevia leaves to be used as food additives and there are studies that show that consuming whole stevia leaves may have some effects on the reproductive, cardiovascular and renal system.
You can find many types of stevia sweeteners on the market today but it is essential to know which one is safe to buy. Some of them may have other added ingredients which make the sweetener more artificial than natural.
All in all, there are not enough studies to show us the long term effects of stevia’s use and side effects but most studies showed that stevia is safe to use for human beings. As long as it is consumes in reasonable amounts, stevia is an exceptional natural sugar-substitute.
Stevia and obesity
Obesity has become of the most health concerns around the world. Studies have shown that generally people are unaware of the amount of sugar they are eating, for example the average American unknowingly consumes around 26 teaspoons of sugar a day, which is around 650 calories.
As the population increases in size, more and more people are looking for a way to shrink down in size. Cutting down the sugar intake can definitely help and stevia is one of the......

...San Francisco Public Utilities Commission Case Study
Question 1
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SPFUC) is a branch of the city council of San Francisco that handles ensuring that there is water, power services, and water treatment to the city. Just like any other organization, it has its business goals that it is out to achieve. The basic goal of SPFUC organization is to provide its clients, who are the residents of the Bay area and San Francisco with wastewater treatment and high quality reasonably priced water. Additionally these goals will be achieved while responsibly and efficiently managing natural, human, and physical resources. SPFUC is facing a major challenge in handling the knowledge of its workers. Approximately 20% of the employees will be retiring, and the biggest headache is that the jobs that they do is technical, not recorded anywhere therefore they risk losing knowledge through retirement.
Question 2
SPFUC is facing a critical challenge in maintaining the knowledge of its employees within the company. Following the retirement of some employees of whom a significant number carried out technical duties, SPFUC risks losing its knowledge among the employees through retirement. The situation is even in a more critical position when it comes to training new employees will be more complicated. Therefore, capturing of, managing, transferring, and sustaining consistency and accountability notwithstanding a larger influx of workers will prove a......

...Case: valley wide utilities company
Problems
A. Macro
1. The company faced with financial inefficiencies resulting from an expansion of its facilities.
2. President Delgado appointed John Givens and Hilda Hirsh to provide a broad outline of MBO performance standards, identify key standards controlling performance, and more specifically, isolate goals not easily attained.
B. Micro
1. During the past year, performance evaluation problems are surfacing, dissatisfaction is emerging, managers are stating MBO standards are too tight and unfair, and workers are threatening to leave.
I. Causes
1. John and Hilda may not have the knowledge or skills to evaluate and change performance levels of individuals or teams.
2. Hirsh was only looking for failure to report under the cover of the MBO system
II. Systems affected
1. The company just increased the performance level on several items, bur they didn’t set a specific goal.
2. When the problems appeared, the company should talk about it together, and find out what they should do next, but they didn’t.
III. Alternatives
1. Lower the standard of the system.
2. The manager should make a plan or goal from the review, then tell the employees how to do next.
IV. Recommendation
The company should do what I said before.
Case: valley wide utilities company
Problems
C. Macro
3. The company faced with financial inefficiencies resulting from an expansion of its facilities.
4. President......

...
Nicolas Marks
MGMT 514 – Principals of Marketing
24 January 2016
Golden Valley Foods, Inc.: A case study
Golden Valley Foods, Inc. is a 127-year-old company that prepares packages and sells canned and frozen foods which include fruits, vegetables, pickles and condiments. Golden Valley has more than 30 processing plants in operations and annual sales of approximately $650 million. Much of Golden Valley’s management staff comes from their parent company with the previous president saying “The influence of our old parent company is still with us. As long as new products look like they will increase the company’s sales volume, they are introduced. Traditionally, there has been little, if any attention paid to margins. We are well aware that profits will come through good products in large volume.” (William D Perreault Jr.) Recently this company has gone through a transition with the removal of several directors and the prior president of the company. The newly elected president, Neal Middleton, is facing a severe decline in profits over recent years as well as low personnel morale.
Golden Valley Foods, Inc. has major issues facing them with both a decrease in profits and low morale due to the recent departure from their parent company, removal of several directors and the introduction of a new president. By bringing over policies and influences from their parent company, Golden Valley has overlooked an opportunity to tap into some markets their parent company......